//------------------------------// // Sentence // Story: How my Little Brother Became an Alicorn // by WiseFireCracker //------------------------------// What did he stand for? He knew he had forgotten. Or he had chosen not to think about it. Whichever was less painful. It was shameful, unprincely even! Such a poisonous, heretical thought would have never wormed itself into his glorious mind before, but they were nothing, oh nothing at all, in the face of words of that damned alicorn. The most infuriating part had been his lack of wit, the shock of being addressed that way responsible of course. He had completely been unable to reply to those ridiculous claims. Ridiculous… Y-yes, they were ridiculous! How could the next generations not see what he had done for the good of his country?! What he had done? …Give the authorization to build a new road between Fillydelphia and Clopenagh? Put his seal of approval on a revision of the Everfree Forest’s borders? He knew those were important tasks, Celestia damn it! Why was he still bothered by that ruffian’s words?! “What is your biggest dream?” He had asked. As if he had any right to question his motives! Blueblood squashed the floating image of his airship, knowing the remembrance would just bring out painful memories. Memories of his beloved “Sky King” were best left untouched. Not that he wanted to use it, to feel the wind brush against his fur and look at the earth below, as if the whole world had suddenly become accessible to him in ways he could never dream of. As if it belonged to him, like the sky itself. No, of course not. He was a prince, he knew what his duty was… Mother had always made that clear enough. Phantom pain ran through his flanks, but he ignored it. Duty, duty, all that mattered remained his status. He was a prince, nothing could change that. It just meant certain… restrictions were inevitable. But he alone could do it. Why did the thought suddenly turn so bitter then? Why was he left with nothing but the taste of ash in his mouth? The stallion had no answer to his interrogations, nor was he in the company of any pony that might have. Blueblood was alone, slowly making his way back to his room. The hallways were deserted, save for the occasional pony cleaning up the castle or the guard making his patrol. Blueblood made a show to ignore them. “Oh, but my father always said that a pony’s character is measured in how he treats his inf-”His inferior? Ah, what a laughable sentiment. What did it matter if a servant’s feelings were hurt? They weren’t paid to feel. Ashes. Only ashes in his mouth. “You can still change!” Why would he? He was perfect as he was. Anypony with a lick of common sense would agree. “The only thing royal about you is that you’re a royal PAIN!” He cringed at the memory of that fury, who he later realized was one of the heroines that had saved the world. It had been… awkward to find that out. With a sigh, the prince pushed open the door to his suite. He slowly walked through the doorframe. Perhaps he was wrong, perhaps he ought to change his ways… SPLOTCH! The whole castle heard his screams. -- It was hard not to break into cheers when we heard of Tom’s successful prank, oh so hard, but alas there were witnesses around. We wouldn’t want to antagonize the princesses by publicly revealing we had pranked (or allowed another to, in my case) their nephew. There was no chance in hell they would not guess accurately it was our fault, especially after this morning’s encounter, but we might as well pretend to be innocent. “Oh no, that is terrible,” I deadpanned. Well, crap, that was weaksauce times twenty. “Yes… absolutely terrible… The castle won’t be the same without his magnificent presence bearing down on all of us…” The maid replied, with just as much emotion. Alright, maybe our cover wasn’t blown yet. If it had, we knew at least one more pony that would go down with us. Thing was, we didn’t get to see Blueblood as he got splattered with cake. We missed it by a couple of minutes apparently. From that point on, nopony had gotten any update about the prince. He had holed himself in his room and would not come out. None of his usual staff had been allowed inside either. Nevertheless, that had deserved a brohoof with Tom. And a big congratulation. “Now, I believe you were supposed to escort us to our own suite, am I correct?” I gave her an encouraging smile. “You are, my prince.” She bowed. The title made me cringe. The deference did not help either. “Y-yes, if you would please…?” She got the hint and started walking. -- “Do you know why you’re here?” The woman with the glasses asked him. “I guess it’s because I’m avoided like the plague?” He replied bitterly. She could not stay completely stoic at that. She had to show a little compassion. Her hands found his. “Eric, there is nothing wrong with you.” “Then why are all my friends gone now?” Mrs. Thompson had to stop and forget her own failures. She had given herself the task to help Sam. She had failed him spectacularly. Now, she had to face one of his friends. This was hard, but the psychologist could hardly imagine herself in the shoes of Sam’s parents. It was a fate she would not wish on anyone. She had been contacted by her colleague, Dr. Lachance, for a small discussion concerning Sam’s perception of his parents. He had said a few words about their general states, but, of course, hadn’t delved into their states of mind more deeply. Professionalism aside, they weren’t such nice things to look into anymore… “Eric, this is not a fault on your part. It is a terrible, terrible thing, but none of it can be blamed on you. You must understand that.” The teenager’s eyes would not focus back on her. They were onto a memory he had tried to forget, because every remembrance came with a throbbing sensation around his eye. Always the same thing. He was talking, trying to make a lighter conversation. Then, there’s a fist. He was holding her back, making sure she wouldn’t go too far. Then, there’s another fist. And, like that, they’re both gone. He couldn’t not think about how he had played a role in this. His mind just kept telling him he had done something wrong to deserve this. Right? “I can’t,” he whispered. “I want, but I can’t.” -- “Hum… Sam? What are we doing?” Tom asked, thoroughly confused. “We’re going to redo the whole ritual that brought us here, of course.” My horn glowed bright and most of the furnitures was moved out of the way, creating a clear, wide area for us to work on. “Oh.” He looked down. Well, that didn’t sound thrilled. Don’t start talking about how you want to stay, ‘cause I’ll drag your ass back to Mom and Dad anyway, except I’ll be a lot angrier about it. “What’s wrong?” I frowned, absentmindedly levitating lumps of coal from our chimney. “You don’t look like you’re happy.” The pieces of dark material snapped in half. …I had to work on my control better… “Come to think of it, Tom, why didn’t you come back by yourself?” “I… got a little scared,” he admitted with a tiny voice. His cheeks had darkened. “I thought you might… not be happy to see me again…” “Oh come on, squirt.” I nuzzled him, sharing some warmth and comfort with him. “That’s nonsense and you know it.” “Hu-uh…” He shrugged noncommittally. Tom broke the contact himself. He had foregone most if not all of his boastful attitude. At the moment, he was little more than a kid, lost and confused. “Plus, I had sorta forgotten the way to draw the big circle…” He looked down, ashamed, in more ways than one. He seemed on the verge of tears now. I brought him into a hug. “Shhh, it’s fine, buddy. I’ll take care of everything, promise.” Tom blinked, shocked. “Huh? You know how to?” “Of course I do, I studied the spell intensively before coming here.” I smiled, though I was mentally bracing myself for the worst. “I memorize it in its entirety.” The sudden onslaught of memories did not catch me off-guard. I had physically steadied myself. I had seen it coming. I had hoped to. Now, a series of extremely complicated and precise alignment of magical runes were freshly imprinted in my mind. The incantation was just as easily remembered as well. It made me shake in anticipation. It would be so easy to make it work. I already knew the spell would be perfect. “Let’s get down to it, shall we?” I grinned, releasing my hold on my little brother. Then I started pressing the coal against the stone floor. -- “Now where is that beaver?” A fabulous voice echoed on the shores of the river. “He promised to meet up here for the issue of his dam.” Exquisite purple scales shimmered in the sun, so rarely shining in his neighborhood. The Everfree Forest was not often that sunny in the middle of the day… or anytime of the year really. It was just a lucky break for him. After all, the light brought out the orange of his mustache. The sea serpent scanned his surroundings. Nothing. His claws scratched his chin, a frown on his face. “I could have sworn this was the right place.” He glanced at the orb of fire moved around by the alicorn princess. “And this is the right time too. Ah, where is that beaver? He’s not late, is he? That is so unsightly.” Steve Magnet did not notice the fog conquering the woods. He really ought to have… He just felt terribly cold all of a sudden. -- I-it was complete. I had finished drawing all the runes, each symbol was in its place. Nothing would ruin this. My eyes darted around the room, my heart skipping a beat when I realized I had tempted fate. But that cold-hearted bitch seemed to have decided not to screw us over this time. The room was empty, save for us and those pentagrams. I was so excited I could throw up. “R-ready, squirt?” He quickly nodded. He clearly was just as thrilled as I was. “Stay close to me,” I said, pulling closer with one wing. “And repeat everything I say. We wouldn’t want just one of us going through, right?” “Okay, Sam.” I started talking. And he started repeating, everything, dutifully, just like I asked. For a moment, I allowed myself to hope. It would work. It had to. We were doing everything the way it should be done. Heck, the strange reality warping that was plaguing my mind had even made sure I knew exactly what to do. We said the words. All of them. Without hesitation. Without missing a beat. Everything was perfect. But this time, the runes lit up during the spell casting. I wasn’t facing an inanimate circle this time, but a maddeningly bright writing that had me hoping… that had me thinking to myself that it wasn’t a bad sign, that it wasn’t a hint that it wasn’t working right, that this definitely did not meant anything other than the spell was working. That alone and nothing else. The last syllable left my mouth, and it seemed to echo with another voice. And then, nothing. Again. The moment the spell was over, it was as if nothing would happen, nothing would ever happen to bring us out of this hell away from the people that matter to us. But I wasn’t truly worried yet. It had done this before. Is this it? Or is this the part where the nightmare becomes a reality? My eyes had gone to the ground. The last time, I had sunk through the ground. That had been how I had travelled here. Now, my heart was beating so strongly my vision kept jumping as I stared at a lifeless stone floor. I was trying to will us to go through it. My hooves remained despairingly solid. The seconds ticked away. Each one was a needle piercing my skin. Each one added to a growing fear, until there were naught but deafening screams in my mind. They were all I could hear, even as my heartbeat grew wilder. What is that? The question crossed my mind. I saw red. Literally. Something red was floating about, formless. It seemed ominous… it had filled the air. If I could describe it, I would call it a mist. Droplets of something crimson, an infinite number of it that covered the room from head to toes. Each one of them was calling to me like the song of a siren. They… reminded me of something… Home… Then, it gathered, took on the shape of a vaguely horse-like creature. The figure seemed alien at first, but as more of its essence was returned to its original shape. Into the center of the runes I had drawn, a new creature had taken form. I was looking at the ghostly figure of an alicorn. One whose traits were filled with warmth, who was so familiar my heart ached with longing. I… I couldn’t… For a second… I wished I could simply go back to him… to return to being under his watchful golden eyes… to just… rely on him… the strongest and the most reliable of all… “Hey Dad!” My heart stopped. It froze in my chest, suddenly turning a lifeless husk and driveling into nothingness. Cold ice seeped through my veins and made the world spin madly. No… That’s… a lie… “Started to miss you, y’know?” Tom grinned, boastful. “Well, not that much, ‘cause I’m not a baby, but maybe a little.” The alicorn smiled in that faint way fathers do when they’re humoring their children. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT, YOU BASTARD! I’LL KI- “Please tell me you haven’t disrupted the fabric of time and space yet?” HAHA, I WOULD HAVE LAUGHED, AND MADE THAT EXACT SAME JOKE, BUT YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT! I couldn’t see clearly. I was blinded by my rage. “Why are you here?!” The alicorn stammered, clearly taken by surprise by my vindictive tone. “T-they asked me to be the messenger this once. It is a responsibility I would not give to anypony else.” “What message?! What responsibility?!” Did Tom flinch? Why? “Something from Mom?” He asked, eagerly looking up at the strong fatherly figure. I was this close to snarling, to foaming and just attacking that thing. How dare he?! How could he pretend to…?! “No, Calx…” He spoke softly, as if that made up for anything at all! “Not from your mother…” “From whom then?!” “The Elders.” I was shocked silent. W-who were they? I had some knowledge of them, as all alicorns would, since, you know, I had gro- LIES! They were unforeseen consequences of a botched up reality warping magic. Nothing more. Yet my chest tightened with dread at how solemn Magnus had been. Ho-how do I even know he’s Magnus? Because he is. He’s the one from my memories, the alicorn that kept me warm at night, that gave me a hug when nopony else would. My father. My head was killing me. A growing pressure was encircling my head, a prison of pain that would not give out. “W-what did they say?” I didn’t truly want to know that. Just why we were still in Equestria. Why weren’t we going through a swirl of color and on our way to our beds, waiting for the reality to crash on us and share a laugh, then a hug with Mom? I could already imagine how warm her hug would be, how strongly she’d crush my bones in her embrace. But I didn’t have it yet. The world was becoming cold around us. My fur was not enough to keep it at bay anymore. “You have broken the rules… You know what it means.” No, no, no, no, no! “They decreed that the passage will not be opened until your mistake is atoned for. Innocents may be in peril from your infractions…” Lies. A bunch of lies. He’s a changeling. Not an alicorn. He’s a liar. A liar. A liar that lies. This isn’t real. A nightmare. Time for me to wake up. Just a bad dream. A lie. Magnus is not my father. He must be thinking of other alicorn kids. Just a case of mistaken identity. And a joke. A bad one, but a joke. It just isn’t real. “The princesses will educate you… and you shall watch for abnormal comportments from them.” “B-but Dad…” Tom protested, his expression that of absolute dismay. Why was this happening? My fault. Wasn’t it like that? A lie that snowballs into the most monstrous of truth? THEN NO MORE LIES! "YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER!" And I saw, the absolute hurt in his face. That alicorn... it did not understand why a son had rejected him. I... I wasn't so sure why I had... "Son..." Oh God! He sounds just like Dad! This isn't real! "I... I'm sorry. I don't want this." I saw him, I saw Magnus as my father, the one that comforted me when I was just a little colt. I saw that tall alicorn stand proud and show me how to fly amongst the stars. I remembered the glee. I remembered the love... I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry... Bitter tears rolled down my cheeks. I DON’T KNOW ANYMORE! "You can't... you c-can't force us to stay here..." “T-this is how…” He sounded as if he was ripping his own heart into pieces. “The Elders have willed it to be…” I could not see him clearly anymore. Hot. Wet. From my eyes. It just blurred and cleared up, with every blink of my eyes. And my throat was tightening closer and closer. "Yo-you h-h-have to let us g-g-g-go home!” My breathing accelerated. This was too much. TOO MUCH. “I BEG OF YOU!" H-he… he looked away, avoiding my gaze! I could not register anything from him but the same desperate plea, though one for forgiveness. His pity struck me at the heart. I knew. It was all over. I could no longer stay standing. I collapsed, the worst of fear a reality. My vision turned dark. We’re stuck here… Sounds had been muted. There was but a deafening silence, loud enough to eclipse even the panicked screams of my little brother and my father. Nothing but nothingness. I heard the bell toll. My mind crashed.